Merry Christmas! Now what to do with $100 on Steam...

[StrandedonEarth]

Merry Ho-Ho Everybody!

So this morning I got a $100* Steam card. I wanted a Steam card, but I didn't expect that much! But that's good, because what I was really itching for on Steam was Civ 6. Right now it's at only 10% off for $72 which is still a little steep. Civ 5 is 75% off, a mere $8.24, but Civ 6 is such a huge upgrade in gameplay, with multi-tile cities and such. But now I'm reading the reviews and it seems the AI diplomacy needs work, to put it mildly. So I'm not really sure what to do.

Anybody have any recommendations on what to do with my Steam windfall? I don't have much on Steam, not even KSP, My library consists of Cities: Skylines and SW:BF2. The only Civ game I've played is Civ 4 (full BTS version) and put many hours into it.

If I only buy Civ5, then that's a lot of dough left in the wallet. Any other suggestions for a 46yo gamer dad?

*All funds in Cdn $

 

 

[pTrevTrevs]

Ignore Civ, spend all money on Total War.

[MaxxQ]

2 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Merry Ho-Ho Everybody!

<snip>

If I only buy Civ5, then that's a lot of dough left in the wallet. Any other suggestions for a 46yo gamer dad?

*All funds in Cdn $

 

 

The original Deus Ex (not Human Revolution*, not Invisible War, not Mankind Divided - just Deus Ex).  As long as you're not a graphics fan, you'll love it.  Original release in 2000.  I bought it on release, and have played a MINIMUM of once per year ever since.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.  Make sure you get the fan patch(es).  The game was a buggy nightmare when it first released (Activision forced Troika to shove it out the door), but the patches, made with the help of some of the original devs, have made it completely playable.  If you get this one, make sure you play a "normal" vampire race before you ever attempt to play a Malkavian.  They're batpoop crazy!  Literally.  Well, except for the batpoop.

Homeworld Remastered - A bit more costly (but still less than Civ VI), but you basically get four games with it - Homeworld and Homeworld 2 remastered, plus the original, as released versions of both.  Original game was released in 1999, IIRC.

*Although HR isn't really a bad game.  It's just not as great as DX.  IW was bad, just plain bad, and I haven't played, and most likely won't play MD

[Robotengineer]

Get Civ 5 with all the DLC, regardless of whether you get Civ 6. I've played both, and while Civ 6 is good it's still kind of buggy. 

[Dman979]

Save it. Either Civ 6 will get better (and it will go on sale again) and buy it then, or you find something else you like. You can then buy that without worrying abouty where the money will come from. In the meantime, find a cheaper game and drop a few bucks on it. You mentioned Civ 5, go for it!

[legoclone09]

Doom is great! On sale for $20 right now, Insurgency is really fun, so is Day of Infamy, just browse the store and look for something you might like.

[KAL 9000]

Merry Christmas! Try Astroneer, it would be 1/5^th your budget and it is apparently really good. 

Off-topic (sorta): How would Santa Claus deliver gifts to all ~3 billion children in the world in one night?

[HoloYolo]

LOL $100? Peasant. I got $130, and I already spent $50, but I just refunded a $30 game with a 320 page tutorial...(I kid my Canadian)

Anyways, I'd get Civ 6 if you haven't made up your mind yet, it looks way better than the previous one.

 

[Harry Rhodan]

Europa Universalis 4 or Crusader Kings 2. Endless Legend is also nice.

[Dispatcher]

Get yourself some package deals, like the Valve Orange or HalfLife pack or whatever they are calling it now.  You'll get the Half Life series and some other games thrown in.  I also recommend the Portal series.

Then there are all kinds of early access games, such as Space Engineers, which just went beta.

If I think of any others, I'll have to edit this later.

Good luck!

[StrandedonEarth]

Well, I lasted an hour after posting this thread. There were still no replies, and having done a little more reviewing, I bit the bullet and bought Civ 6. As one might guess by my virtual absence from the forums, I've been trying to do nothing else for the last 2 days. The urge for just "One more turn..." is very strong with this one.

Despite that, I did manage to get something done: I built a fold-down wall desk for my daughter's room, with a ledge for pens'n'stuff. I also upgraded all six(!) bulbs in her basement room to LED, along with a compatible dimmer.
Pics (just needs paint): 

Spoiler

Thanks for all the suggestions, but I'm glad I spent the dough on something that'll help me achieve full wastage of my 11-day holiday break at work. Now, if you'll excuse me, the wife is at work, the teenage daughter is sleeping, the boys are separately (and therefore peacefully) occupied on the XB1 and PC, and Civ 6 is finished loading. Maybe I'll come up for air before the New Year. Cyuz....

Edit: Oh, and I also unlocked the ultimate lazy-dad achievement: Spent all of Christmas Day in my housecoat and boxers!

...([alt-tab] "Now attack, ye scurvy dogs....!)

 

Edited December 28, 2016 by StrandedonEarth

[Bill Phil]

If you have any left, Half Life is great (unless you have it on disk/other format already). It's expansions are pretty good too.